Cold Heart
by Alcoholic Dinosaur
Summary: When RO is beaten one night after coming out of a bar, its up to Spider to bring him back out of his shell as love blossoms between them. Sorry, suck at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

Cold Heart  
AN: This is a Spider/RO romance, fluff mainly but might have some...hehe...stuff later on. Thanks for reading, and dont forget to review!  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sea Patrol

Post Season-5

0218 HRS

Queens Street and 4th

Cairns

RO staggered drunkenly down the street, the other late night pedestrians giving him a wide berth. He stopped momentarily, attempting to look at the dial on his watch, the numbers blurring together. A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder, pushing him into the dark alley. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, the alcohol slowing his judgement. By the time it finally clicked, the hand had released his shoulder to punch him in the jaw, sending him to the ground.

He was picked up roughly and shoved against the wall, his head bouncing off the brick wall of a building and starting a thin trickle of blood down his forehead. As his attacker reached for his wallet, RO sobered enough to let a weak punch fly and connect with the dude's nose. The man grunted, the let a series of punches and kicks fly into RO's stomach. He felt something crack, and a sudden burning sensation in his lungs made it to the forefront of his mind. A final punch to his jaw knocked him unconscious, his attacker stealing his phone and money, leaving his wallet behind as RO lay bleeding in the alley, slumped against a cold metal trashcan as a summer storm rolled in, drenching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Cold Heart - Chapter Two  
AN: Here's chapter two! Its not that long, but its an update.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Sea Patrol

0430 HRS

HMAS Hammersley

Home Port

Lieutenant Commander Nikki Caetano grumbled and set down her coffee cup, staring out at the massive storm that was keeping the crew inside. All except one.

"Anyone heard from RO?" She asked, looking back at the bridge crew. They shook their heads, Spider handing her a slip of paper as he set down the receiver at RO's station. She stood up shakily, her eyes widening in shock. "Are they sure it's him?" She asked, receiving a nod from Spider and some curious glances from the bridge crew. She snatched up her coffee cup and phone from her armrest, snapping orders as she headed for the stairs, Spider on her heels. "Dutchy, you've got the ship, tell the XO to meet me at Barry General and have someone look up RO's next of kin. He's been mugged and beaten up." She said, pausing and looking back at the worried faces looking at her, then starting back down the stairs. Grabbing her jacket from her cabin, she met Spider at her car, breaking more than a few traffic laws as she sped down the wet roads to the hospital. Running into the hospital, she grabbed a nurse to ask her where RO was.

"He's in Intensive Care, ma'am. Are you family?" The nurse asked, glancing at her clipboard.

"No..but hi-" Nikki started, cut off by the nurse.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. If you're not family, you can't go in." The nurse said, gave a small smile, spun on her heel and walked off. Nikki scoffed and grumbled a few curses, striding over to the chairs next to the door. Spider sat next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. She looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"He can't die, Spi. He...he just can't." She whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. Spider looked up as Lieutenant James Hood strode in, carrying a file with him.

"Dutchy sent this. It's RO's file, he thought you might want to look for yourself, give you something to do." He said, handing the file to his quietly sobbing CO. She gently opened it, skimming through pages, setting aside his medical papers to give to the nurse, and then paused as she looked at the page with RO's next of kin on it.

"Uh...Spider?" She asked in a whisper, holding the paper up for him to look at.

"Wha...when...did he do that?" Spider asked, looking between Nikki and the XO. They both shrugged, Nikki wiping her cheek off with her coat sleeve as Spider got up and walked slowly over to the nurse. The nurse took the page from him, looked at it, handed it back to Spider and shook her head.

"I still can't let you back there, sir." She said, giving him a dismissive wave and looking back down at a crossword puzzle. Spider slapped the counter, his hand sounding like a gunshot when it connected with the cool material of the counter. The nurse jumped and looked up, seeing Spider on the verge of exploding.

"Damnit, listen to me. His only relative is halfway across the country it Darwin, and they don't even speak anymore. I am his legal next of kin, which mean you damn well better let me and those two," he stopped and waved a hand at Nikki and Lieutenant Hood, "back there to see him. Got it?" He growled quietly, the nurse nodded shakily. She stood and walked over to the ICU ward doors, Spider motioning to Nikki and the X to join him. They followed the nurse through the doors, down the hall to a room at the end of a hallway. Spider went in first, Nikki and James pausing at the threshold with the nurse.

"They found him in a back alley. 4 broken ribs, concussion, broken nose, some scrapes and bruises." the nurse whispered, Nikki hissing at the extent of his wounds. Spider stood frozen in front of RO's bed, looking down at the pale man covered in tubes and bandages. Nikki edged him into one of the chairs, sitting in a one across from him and James propping up against the wall.

'It's going to be a long night.' Nikki thought, watching Spider idly draw patterns on the armrest.


	3. Chapter 3

One Week Later

0616 HRS

Barry General Hospital

Cairns

Spider jolted awake, his eyes automatically finding RO and doing a fast visual assessment. He saw the man twitch and let out a groan, the readouts on the monitors changing slightly.

"Nurse!" He shouted, jumping up and running over to his bedside. A nurse ran in, glancing at all the monitors and then RO. His eyes fluttered slightly and then opened fully, darting back and forth as his body tensed up. Spider gripped his hand, RO's eyes whipping around and locking on him, his body relaxing and his vitals stabilizing the moment they made eye contact. The nurse did some final checks on RO before returning to the desk, Spider never letting go of his hand until the hospital door shut, then he sighed and eased down to his knees so he could be eye level with RO.

"What...happened to me?" He asked Spider, wincing when moved to fast and a wave a nausea and dizziness swept over him.

Damnit, don't EVER scare me like that again." Spider grumbled, standing back up. "You were mugged. Broke ribs, nose, and a concussion. Someone found you in an alley, called the hospital, they called _Hammersley_, and I got the lovely duty of telling Nav." Spider summarized, referring to their chestnut-haired CO with the first nickname they had associated her with.

RO nodded and was suddenly staring off into space, his fingers idly playing with a loose thread on the hospital blanket. "I could go for a burger." He suddenly said, Spider's head snapping up, eyebrow already cocked in it's familiar 'Are you serious?' position. RO looked at him with a straight face, his stomach punctuating his glare with a growl. Spider sighed and shook his head, standing up.

"Fine. But if you get in trouble, it's not my fault." He said, pulling on his jacket and walked out, shaking his head as he walked out. "Not awake two minutes and he's already playing the cripple card. Hmmph!" Spider mumbled loud enough for the other man to hear, but RO could tell by his tone he had a smile on his face.


End file.
